• LordKitsuna@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    To be fair this is just if you pay professionals to do it. They charge astronomically out the ass for labor for no reason. The actual cost of the equipment is surprisingly little if you buy it yourself, and installing it is very straightforward and easy you do not need to be particularly intelligent or skilled. I’ve done about five different systems at this point, two on RVs and three on houses. One of the houses and one of the RVs was my own and the rest are friends that I have helped set it up.

    For example with a goal of about 20k spent This bundle gets you 12Kw of inverter output and 30Kwh of batteries for 11k. Then just grab two Of these solar panel pallets for 28Kw of panels. Or Alternatively go smaller with just one pallet and save a bit. Then ofc you will get the 30% federal tax credit on top of everything.

    Ask any installer for a similar sized system and it’s almost certainly going to be 80k+ at minimum. The only part you may definitely want a professional for is if you plan on roof mounting them, have a roofer come help install the framing so you can ensure no leaks. But for ground mount (or if you are familiar with roofing) even that’s not needed.

    The actual electrical works is very straight forward. Everything is very clearly labeled, the documentation is very explicit about what goes where. On the solar panel side you’re literally working with DC so you’re literally only dealing with positive and negative. Even on the AC coupling side when you’re talking about an off-grid inverter you’re not back feeding into the grid so it’s very straightforward. Your house grid goes into the input, and your output on the inverter goes to your panel.

    The only stuff to watch out for in the NEC is rules about where your secondary panel for the solar output can be placed, has to be a certain distance from the ground, has to have a certain amount of clearance around it on all sides, has to be accessible, stuff like that but it’s all fairly easy to just look up thankfully

    • Hugin@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      Yeah I did an 11.68K system on my house with battery backup for the critical stuff like refrigerator. Cost was 18K for parts, permits, and PE drawings. Me and my wife were able to do all the work except for moving the panels up on the roof. Two friend helped with that task.